Opening Thailand bank accounts is different, but easy, once you get the hang of it, but it can be tricky, which is why our Concierge service introduces you to a wonderful bank manager whose bank handles all of Thailand’s foreign exchange transactions. This video shows just how infuriating it can be: New money-laundering regulations require you to establish and prove permanent residence before you can open a Thai bank account. You can imagine the Catch-22… [Read More]

Chiang Mai Cost of Living An Aussie, Michelle Hammond, writes that living in Chiang Mai saves her $23,994 a year: “Before moving here, I knew Chiang Mai offered low-cost living and that the savings I’d make would mean I’d be in for a nice lifestyle upgrade. But I didn’t realise just how good the value was. Now I’m settled in, I’ve a good handle on my budget and the savings I’m making run right across the board, from… [Read More]

Here’s a handy list of Chiang Mai’s Best Coffee Shops. A wide variety of gourmet coffees and excellent locations and environments. Enjoy your coffee! One of Chiang Mai’s Best Coffee Shops is Sweet Gardens, located here. These are the GPS coordinates 18.82920° 99.00616°. It’s on the second ring road towards the north side of town. Easy to miss because you’re hurtling along the freeway and can easily miss it. Owned by a wealthy lady who uses it… [Read More]

What are Thailand Employment Salaries? Wages in Thailand seem low to Western visitors, but Thailand’s official unemployment rate, 0.56 percent, is among the lowest in the world, (it’s 9.4 percent in India and 6 percent in the Philippines. for example). The jobless rate in Thailand has been under 1 percent since 2011. How did it get so low? Bank of Thailand spokesman Chirathep Senivongs Na Ayudhya explains: ”Our unemployment rate has been low not because of a… [Read More]

How does the Thai Minimum Wage work? The National Wage Committee has decided not to not raise the minimum wage until late next year as the cost of living remains at a reasonable level. According to Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Labor Mr. Nakorn Silapa-archa, the wage committee has resolved not to increase the daily minimum wage given that the inflation rate and the global oil prices have declined. However, Mr. Nakorn, who is… [Read More]

Before you start transferring money to Thailand, even before you leave home: Beware!… your cable, utility, etc. vendor will tell you that your accounts are cancelled. Don’t believe your vendor! Many accounts I thought were cancelled are not. They just kept billing me – which is really bad if you have auto billing. The rats just help themselves to your money. So make darn sure that those accounts are dead and buried and stay on… [Read More]

If you’d like to retire in Thailand, here are a few ideas to get your started: 1. Subscribe to our free newsletter, Life in Thailand. 2. Download one of the books: How to Retire in Thailand (and Double Your Income), or Making Money in Thailand. 3. Check out our moving to Thailand Concierge Service: we get you visa’s, banked, insured, moved into your new home, familiar within shops, eating at great restaurants, and knowing where everything… [Read More]

Glen Rutherford’s thinking about moving to Thailand. Here’s his ‘moving to Thailand’ letter: I’ve just finished reading two of your e-books: Making Money in Thailand and How to Retire in Thailand and Double Your Income. They offer a fantastic insight into how Thai’s think differently to us. I’m drawn to Thailand because of the friendly attitude that Thai’s have and their inclusive/communal approach to others. In regards to the questions at the end of your books: What is… [Read More]

Can you live in Thailand on $4 a day? Can you make it in Thailand on $4 (100 Baht) a day? Well… sort of. Here’s a fun video of a young Brit, Alex Putnam, who’s experimenting with living on the Thai minimum wage. It’s not a lifestyle I’d recommend, but it’s an interesting exercise and it shows that living on $500/month is completely do-able: Budgeting in Thailand: A Reality Check Until I developed an outside income,… [Read More]

Here’s a great site for anyone with questions about sex in Thailand. Kaewmala is a Thai lady with a great sense of humor. She’s gone to great trouble to create a useful guide to relationships in Thailand: “I wrote about the evolution of Thai-farang relationship in three phases: “rental wife”, “farang son-in-law” and “post-rental wife” phases, here….I have also made A Rough Guide for Finding the Right Thai Woman for Western Men in which Thai women are divided… [Read More]

Thai Grilled Rats, nu phook, are hunted in the rice fields and grilled for sale as a rural delicacy. They’re a regular source of both protein and income during the last two months of the year for villagers across Thailand. The greater bandicoot rat (bandicota indica) is a rodent of the muridae species found in China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam that grows to 27–29 cm, plus an equally long… [Read More]

Bring More Cash to Thailand Than You Think You’ll Need! Most of Asia does business in cash and Thailand’s no exception. You’ll need to carry cash with you at all times in Thailand unless you want to use a local debit card. Using foreign cards is very, very expensive and only a last resort. So bring cash to Thailand! Lots of cash!! Shortly after I moved to Thailand I experienced card skimming and bank blocks on… [Read More]

Here are the Thai Festivals for 2016–2017 JANUARY Handmade Umbrella Festival #Chinese New Year FEBRUARY Chiang Mai Flower Festival: The beautiful Chiang Mai Flower Festival will be held from February 3-5, 2017 at Chiang Mai, Thailand. Hosted by the Chiang Mai town in Thailand, the Festival is one of the colourful celebrations across the globe. The festival is known for the emphasis on of the Damask Rose, a variety of rose native to the city,… [Read More]

What Are the Advantages of Owning, Insuring Cars in Thailand? If the cost of owning , insuring cars in Thailand seems steep, then consider a scooter. The cost of a good scooter ($1500) and operating it in Thailand is laughable: the 5,000K service at the dealer costs $7! My scooter days were generally great fun, but much less fun at night, in the rain, or on a freeway: those were white-knuckle times I won’t miss. Then, last year,… [Read More]

Money in Thailand’s Booming Economy is something of a mystery. Thailand takes a libertarian approach to government, so if you’re a close libertarian, this is the place for you. Taxes are negligible and interference with your life is rare. To paraphrase the song, You can drink all the liquor down in Suphodthika: ain’t nobody’s business if you do. Or, to use the current phrase, Thailand is not a Nanny state. Nobody will stop you speeding on… [Read More]